Plainview softballers expecting great things

Published 6:00 pm, Wednesday, February 25, 2009

For the last two seasons, the Plainview Lady Bulldogs softball team has narrowly missed making the state playoffs after losing their final games of the season.

This year's team is prepared not only to make school history and earn its first playoff appearance, but also to win the district title.

"These kids pretty much set (that goal) for themselves," said Plainview head coach Stan Countryman. "These girls won't be satisfied making the playoffs. They want to win the district. They've got the confidence."

According to Countryman, this year's district race is setting up to be a battle unlike previous years.

"Right now, the district is really a toss-up," said Countryman. "Usually we've had one or two clear-cut teams that seem to be a little ahead of everyone else. This year everyone seems to have lost some key players. . . . Everyone I've talked to is having to rebuild in some sort of way. Right now, it's really up in the air. It's going to come down to who gets themselves prepared."

Another common denominator between Plainview and other teams in District 4-4A is the amount of youth dominating the rosters.

"We're young. Last year we had quite a few seniors as starters," said Countryman. "(This year) we've got quite a few young kids. The thing about this group of kids is they have played a lot together in summer ball.

"The main thing (about them playing together) that has caught my eye so far is their unity. They have bonded together well, and with it being a young team they are prone to having their moments. We're going to have growing pains and we're going to make some mistakes."

One reason this group of Lady Dogs has played so much together is the Optimist Youth Softball League that began in Plainview in 2004.

"(Optimist) makes a tremendous difference," said Countryman. "These kids have more exposure now. They've played more travel ball, playing on more select teams. You have to have that base league like the Optimists because that is where they get their interest started. Probably every kid we've got on this team that hasn't moved in has played at least one year in Optimist."

Last year the Lady Dogs had a very powerful line-up that had the ability to hit home runs, but after graduating seniors like Sayla Barnes, this year's team will play a different type of ball.

"We had more power a year ago. We're more athletic this year with more speed," said Countryman. "We've had to change our game. Teams are not going to play us deep. They are going to play us short. We're going to have people play us more in the gaps. We're going to be more of a bunt-and-run type team. We're going to steal more bases. We're going to bunt the ball a lot to move runners and put pressure on teams' defenses. A lot of people think it's a more exciting game. It's a more chess-type of game.

"These kids aren't going to score a lot of runs . . . I think you're going to see seven or eight runs a game. "

The Lady Dogs have lost both regular season games they have played this season.

Plainview fell to Hereford in its season opener, 5-3, and to Canyon, 6-0, on Tuesday.

The Lady Dogs begin district play Tuesday, March 24 when they host Big Spring at 6:30 p.m.